Rhode Island Land Surveyor CE (PDH) Requirements (2026): 20 Hours Every 2 Years

Requirements Overview

The Rhode Island Board of Registration for Professional Land Surveyors (within the Department of Business Regulation's Division of Design Professionals) requires 20 professional development hours (PDH) per two-year biennium, which runs July 1 through June 30. Submitting satisfactory evidence of these hours is a prerequisite to renewing an active registration — a surveyor who cannot document the hours is not granted renewal and may not practice once the registration expires.

A key Rhode Island rule limits online learning: at least 10 of the 20 PDH must come from activities that are not correspondence, internet, or online courses (in effect since July 1, 2017). That leaves a maximum of 10 PDH you can earn online. One PDH equals 50 minutes of instruction, and up to 10 excess PDH may be carried over with full credit into the next biennium.

There are no mandatory ethics or subject-specific hours — activities simply must relate to land surveying and be acceptable to the Board. Notably, Rhode Island professional engineers have no CE requirement, so this obligation is specific to surveyors.

Exemptions

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  Physical Disability, Illness, Or Extenuating Circumstances — A registrant affected by physical disability, illness, or other extenuating circumstances may be exempted or have the requirement reduced, as reviewed and approved by the Board on a case-by-case basis, provided adequate supporting documentation is furnished.
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  Active Military Duty — A non-career military registrant serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed forces for a period of 120 consecutive days in a calendar year may be exempted.
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  Inactive Registration — Registrants on Inactive status are exempt from CE but may not practice; reinstatement to Active status requires meeting reduced PDH requirements based on the duration of inactive status (or passing the NCEES Principles and Practice examination within the prior year).

How You Can Complete Your CE

Rhode Island CE Rules & Limits

Details specific to Rhode Island that generic CE guides tend to miss:

• Carry-over — A maximum of ten (10) PDHs may be carried over with full credit to the next biennium.
• The requirement is 20 PDH per two-year biennium (July 1–June 30). At least 10 of the 20 PDH must come from activities that are NOT correspondence, internet, or online courses (effective July 1, 2017) — so a maximum of 10 PDH may be earned online.
• One PDH equals 50 minutes of in-class instruction or 50 minutes of participation in other board-approved forms of continuing education.
• There are no mandatory subject or ethics hours; PDH activities must relate to the practice of land surveying and be acceptable to the Board.
• Up to 10 excess PDH may be carried over with full credit into the next biennium.
• Submitting satisfactory CE evidence is a prerequisite to renewing an Active registration; a registrant who fails to furnish the completed CE documentation is not granted renewal and may not practice upon expiration. The registration renewal fee is $125.00 per year.
• Rhode Island professional engineers have no continuing education requirement — the CE obligation applies to land surveyors.

Tips for Rhode Island PLSs

• Plan your biennium (July 1–June 30) around the in-person floor: at least 10 of your 20 PDH must be live/in-person, so book seminars or conferences early rather than relying on online courses.
• Cap your online learning at 10 PDH — correspondence, internet, and online-source courses can satisfy no more than half the requirement.
• One PDH is 50 minutes of instruction, so verify how each provider counts contact time before assuming a course equals a full hour.
• If you overshoot 20 hours, you can carry a maximum of 10 PDH into the next biennium with full credit — worth timing a longer course near the end of a cycle.
• Keep your completion records: CE evidence is a prerequisite to renewal, and without documentation the Board will not renew your active registration.

Sources

Other Professions in Rhode Island

All Land Surveyor CE Requirements by State

Open any other state's Land Surveyor CE (PDH) requirements, or see the full Land Surveyor CE hub to compare every state in one table.